Egypt translates foreign constitutions as template for its own

Egyptian politicians and scholars translated foreign constitutions Cairo – Akram Ali Just days before Egypt's presidential elections are due to start, and without the completion of the written constitution, a number of Egyptian politicians and scholars have proposed using foreign constitutions that have been translated as a template for the anticipated Egyptian constitution. The National Council for Translation has translated 16 constitutions for review before undertaking the draft of the Egyptian version. Former vice president of the National Council for Human Rights Dr Ahmed Kamal Abul-Magd, member of parliament Dr Mustafa Shobky, law professor Dr Hossam Issa, and strategic expert Sameh Seif Alyazel supported this measure.
Former vice president of the National Council for Human Rights, Ahmed Kamal Abul-Magd, confirmed that the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) "is serious in its promise to hand over power on time, at the end of June," the deadline to transfer power to a civilian government.
In an exclusive statement to Arabstoday, Abul-Magd said that is was "nonsense' to expect the new constitution to be drafted in 15 days or even one month, saying that it could take two years to draft a consensual constitution that will be agreed upon by all the different sectors of Egyptian society.
Abul-Magd remarked that some politicians wished to exert influence on the majority of the voices without considering the best interests of the nation.
He asserted that Egypt could benefit from using foreign constitutions as its model in order to get out of the current impasse, noting that many countries have experienced similar crises.
MP Amr Shobky considered the current disorder in Egypt was caused by the constitutional amendments which took place last year, followed by the constitutional proclamation of the Military Council.
During a seminar organised by the National Council for Translation to examine constitutions from different parts of the world, Shobky believed that the 1971 constitution "with all its defects" would be better than the constitutional proclamation developed by the military council "because it drove Egypt into a complicated crises which must be solved as soon as possible" he warned.
Professor of law at Ain Shams University, Dr Hossam Issa believes that 75 percent of Egyptians do not know the meaning of the constitution and are unable to differentiate between the constitution and the law, citing this lack in political awareness which led to a disaster in the constitutional amendments that took place in March last year.
Issa called for the drafting of a consensual constitution after discussions with all political forces and parties with clear explanations to the Egyptian people before the referendum in order to "avoid the tragedy of last year's constitutional amendments" in which 70 percent of the people voted “yes” without knowing exactly what they were voting for.
The Carter Center has announced it  has received permission fom  the Egyptian Supreme Presidential Election Commission (SPEC) and that it would send international observers to control the presidential elections.
The Carter Center’s delegation will monitor elections management, campaigning, voting, counting and sorting votes in addition to other related tasks. It will also meet with the officials responsible for carrying out the elections, representatives of political parties, civil society, international society figures and others.
Accoding to a statement seen by  Arabstoday, the tasks carried out by the Carter Center observers will conform to the guide and code of conduct for election observers, and the Declaration of Principles for International Election Observation.
The SPEC, led by Farouk Sultan, had declared that 60 organisations will be monitoring the elections.
Informed sources in the US embassy in Cairo told Arabstoday that an American delegation will visit Egypt during the week of the elections which is scheduled for the May 23 and 24.
Frmer US President Jimmy Carter, also visit Egypt during the elections period, to follow the electoral process.
The sources added that a number of the US organisations have submitted requests to the SPEC to get a permissions to participate in the observations.
The Carter Center, a charitable organisation, was founded in 1982 by former US President Jimmy Carter and former First Lady Rosalynn Carter, in partnership with Emory University, to advance peace and health worldwide. A non-governmental organisation, the Center has helped to improve life for people in more than 70 countries by resolving conflicts; advancing democracy and human rights.